Just bought a Micra L 1.0 '95, what can i do to modify it?

Jack Bukin

Jack Bukin

Hi everyone,

I recently passed my driving test and have bought a K11 Micra as my first car. It is white with black bumpers, with its original steels. it came with a nice JVC CD player already in it and i have also put a sub and amp in the boot. But i am stuck for ideas on modifications. I am deciding on having a cut out front grill and meshing it, but other then that I have no idea what else to do, as you can probably tell I am new to all this and really could do with some help :)

so any ideas? :laugh:


Will also add some pictures of the little beast as soon as possible :p
 
Ahh okay, so leave it for the first year until I've got 1 years no claims?
what about the light modifications like the open front grill?
 
That's whatthe airfilter does. Removed mine (previous owner) on dyno and gained 2bhp at wheels. Ensure your pipework is clean before you do and and you will be fine I'm sure. I've done forest driving in the dry and a rally in the forestry in the wet and mine has been fine. Up to you though. The mesh isn't very fine though for dust anyway but would stop any nuts and bolts if air filter box fell apart. I've never had one fitted to any other car?
 
Here's a few pictures of it :)

2071694copy.jpg

2071695.jpg

2071698.jpg


Only difference is that the hub caps are now black :p

I am thinking of removing the hub caps, painting the wheels black and keeping the outter rim of the wheel silver :)
 
ok, well I'd rather not mess around with the engine yet until I have a years no claims bonus and have a bit more experience working round the car :)

I'm looking more towards cosmetic changes such as the grill, painting wheels, etc, all the cheap sort of changes as i'm only working at minimum wage haha :p
 
Well mine gained 2bhp at wheels on 1275 motor. His example may have lost but mine gained. Had a before and after dyno about 45 mins apart approx. Maybe different spec. Mine has cams fitted and high flow filter and exhaust. If his was bog standard maybe that's the difference.
 
never bothered removing the mesh tbh could do it this weekend actually seeing as i am poor now lol.
to the OP
doing the grill in my opinion isn't a free/cheap mod as you still have to buy paint/sandpaper/primer/fibreglass/filler...
but if you are trying to be insurance concious then technically you could tell the insurance company you have made a body modification.
otherwise if you don't care the list is endless...
:laugh:
 
definately wait a year, that's what i'm doing, i'm only bunging in sound stuff that the insurance company won't notice for the first year (Y) buying other stuff to fit when i'm on a new policy next year with (hopefully) no claims. the insurance just get's rediculous if you do any mods in the first year, not really worth it in my opinion. i've gone on this smart box scheme thing cos then you can't drive fast but it gets cheap quick (Y) coming off next year though definately, it gets soo boring driving like this :suspect:
 
R-REG-SR said:
it lets big chunks of durt in :grinning:
some people do it,some dont
Click to expand...

theres a thread around somewhere a guy tried running without the mesh. on the dyno it ran 1.6bhp down. ive got an engineering and mechaniccing background and my best guess is the mesh smooths the airflow and creates a better burn, hence the power drop without it. only a guess mind. i run mine with no airfilter or box, and just an alloy trumpet around the throttle body and mesh.
 
p.s. ive only done modifications that dont break insurance law. taking things out is fine, putting things on is expensive! passed mot with no back seats or belts. cant have one or the other, its both or neither!
 
Easy with the mods there, could bring your insurance up, especially if you lower it. I remember when I first bought my Micra - I was insured with Quinn, with no mods (an absolute scam at £2300 to insure on TPF&T, but thankfully I didn't have to pay it :wasntme:). As soon as I started modding, they wouldn't insure me. But thankfully I got some of the money back when I cancelled the policy, and went with Admiral - I shaved about 2/3 off my insurance policy :eek:

As for mods, especially the simple ones - de-bumpstrip, de-badge, remove mudguards, open mouth grill, front fogs, window tinting, headlight/brakelight/side repeater tinting, and a decent stereo/boot setup. That shouldn't do anything to your insurance (or at least not much). As soon as you get your 1 year NCB, you can go a bit further - lower it, a decent set of alloys, full induction kit or Almera airbox (gains from this have always been debated), de-cat pipe, aftermarket backbox (Sportex or Ashley if you're on a budget, or even make your own using a standard backbox and a universal fit backbox, or something like HKS or Blitz if you can afford to go upmarket), 4-1 or 4-2-1 manifold. You can do quite a lot to Micras.

It's just a case of looking at other peoples build threads, and seeing what works and what doesn't, and what you like the look of (Y)

If you're about taking stuff out, you can also put your car on a diet, removing anything you don't need - interior panels, maybe? A bit much for some people :laugh:. Removing the soundproofing makes a big difference as well (Y)
 
Daniel said:
Easy with the mods there, could bring your insurance up, especially if you lower it. I remember when I first bought my Micra - I was insured with Quinn, with no mods (an absolute scam at £2300 to insure on TPF&T, but thankfully I didn't have to pay it :wasntme:). As soon as I started modding, they wouldn't insure me. But thankfully I got some of the money back when I cancelled the policy, and went with Admiral - I shaved about 2/3 off my insurance policy :eek:

As for mods, especially the simple ones - de-bumpstrip, de-badge, remove mudguards, open mouth grill, front fogs, window tinting, headlight/brakelight/side repeater tinting, and a decent stereo/boot setup. That shouldn't do anything to your insurance (or at least not much). As soon as you get your 1 year NCB, you can go a bit further - lower it, a decent set of alloys, full induction kit or Almera airbox (gains from this have always been debated), de-cat pipe, aftermarket backbox (Sportex or Ashley if you're on a budget, or even make your own using a standard backbox and a universal fit backbox, or something like HKS or Blitz if you can afford to go upmarket), 4-1 or 4-2-1 manifold. You can do quite a lot to Micras.

It's just a case of looking at other peoples build threads, and seeing what works and what doesn't, and what you like the look of (Y)

If you're about taking stuff out, you can also put your car on a diet, removing anything you don't need - interior panels, maybe? A bit much for some people :laugh:. Removing the soundproofing makes a big difference as well (Y)
Click to expand...

I was the same. When i was learning to drive i was insured with Quinn for about £800 per year, but when i passed the wanted an extra £2600!! I cancelled the policy and got around 80% of it back and went to LV, who quoted me £1800 instead.

I've already installed a decent stereo/boot setup; a JVC stereo was already in the micra when I bought it and I've now fitted Sony 6x9s on the parcel shelf and a Audiobahn sub and 600 watt amp in the boot :laugh:
An unintentional mod was a loud exhaust. but that's due to a rusty hole in the pipe before the silencer box which will need sorting out before the MOT after my insurance renewal next year. It's not causing any problems as it is other then a little bit of noise so may as well just wait until July and get a Sportex back box then :p
I've also put remote central locking and a remote boot release onto it which is mega useful as I kept forgetting to lock the passenger door at college and had break in twice! :doh:

I was thinking after the insurance renewal i could try and get my hands on some Superlites. I've seen a couple of Micras around with them on and they look great. My insurance renewal is also a month before i hopefully start my mechanical engineering apprenticeship with AugustaWestland (fingers crossed) and then I'll maybe have some spare cash to spend on "Daisy" (as the girlfriends mum named it) :laugh:
 
P.S. I also picked up an SR front bumper from the scrappy yesterday for a tenner. Would that be one to add after my insurance renewal?
 
as far as insurance goes, people need to get on admiral multi-car policies.

ive got a micra and a vectra, theyre both on the policy, as is my brothers subaru justy and peugeot 205. im 24 clean license hes 23, 3 points and speeding ban, we pay under 1100 in total. a 1.3L Si cost £375, with me as primary driver and both parents and brother as named drivers
 
Well I fitted the SR bumper today:

IMG00011-20120108-1324.jpg


Quite like the look of dark red on white. However the bumper will obviously need a respray at some point as its looking a bit rough :p
So will decide whether to have it white or red when I get the time to spray it :)

However I can only find one plug for the driving light on the drivers side, hence why only one light is working. Anyone know where the plug for the passenger side is? or is there not one at all? I noticed the SR I took the bumper from was the same.
 
:eek: a tenner for a sr bumper with fogs and toe cover, that's a very nice find! I'd personally paint it black, I like the hi-spec bumpers painted like the lo-spec versions.
 
euro_micra said:
:eek: a tenner for a sr bumper with fogs and toe cover, that's a very nice find! I'd personally paint it black, I like the hi-spec bumpers painted like the lo-spec versions.
Click to expand...

Paint strip the sr bumper? they seem to be the same black plastic underneath.
 
euro_micra said:
:eek: a tenner for a sr bumper with fogs and toe cover, that's a very nice find! I'd personally paint it black, I like the hi-spec bumpers painted like the lo-spec versions.
Click to expand...

I know! seriously happy with my find :)

And I was thinking black as well. I just don't want to end up painting it and finding it doesnt look right.

Looks like its time for some photoshopping :grinning:
 
1 question guys: HOW on earth can nisurance know wether you changed e.g to almera aribox, or that you lowered the car by e.g 30mm? HOW?? In Poland we have no such things as markups due to modififcations...even if we would nobody would even understand them, especially if they are covert (franks mani mod, almera airbox, better brakes..please explain :)
 
sometimes it is possible to modify your car in the UK without changing insurance policy. usually this is through loopholes in the laws. for example, if your car comes with alloy wheels, you may legally fit larger ones from the same manufacturer as they count as OEM parts. i run 15 inch almera gti wheels, and its 100% legal because it came on 14"s as standard. my mate also got away with this putting Audi A8 wheels on his golf, going from 15" to 18". looks ridiculous, totally awful, totally legal.

you can go lightweight legally too. the only thing you actually need for your MOT is a drivers seat, a working seatbelt etc. hence i passed MOT with no back seats (only legal if no back seatbelts either though), no head lining, interior trim, and no dashboard.

I've spoken to police officers before, and one questioned my adjustable fuel pressure regulator. i said to him, "it was half the price of the OEM one, so i bought the cheap one". The officer told me how adjustable technically breaks the regs, but i then explained to him how i was "uninterested in modifying and only in repairing on a budget" and he left me alone! he didnt mention the air intake made from a sub-box port sat on top of my t/b.

the reason in the UK we have to tell our insurance is because the police force are such control freaks. it is possible in this country, and probable, that the modified car will be held to blame, even where there is no fault with the driver. If you don't notify the insurance company of your modifications and you have a crash (fault or non-fault), there is more than a possibility that at the vehicle examination, that the insurance company will deny your claim as the car is not standard. from that point things get worse. if the company deny your claim due to car mods, you're driving uninsured. punishable offence.
 
well done on passing your test i am also a new driver and passed my test in november, and tbh as i am a 17 year old i am not going to bother modifing my car just do the odd mod which is cheap and easy and which would rocket my insurance price up. :)
 

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